Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43-C.128 | OCR A-Level Ancient History (H407)

Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43-C.128

374 questions
23 subtopics
Component Group 2: Roman depth study, one of three
Component Group 2

Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43–c.128 is examined in Component Group 2, Roman period study and Roman depth study.

It covers Britain and Rome before the invasion of AD 43, Claudius' reasons for the conquest of Britain, the invasion of AD 43 and the conquest of southern Britain, Roman military policy under the governors from Ostorius to Frontinus, Agricola's campaigns in Britain, AD 77–83, frontier policy after Agricola and Domitian's retrenchment, Trajan's retrenchment and the Stanegate frontier, Hadrian's decision to build the Wall, the features and functions of Hadrian's Wall, the reasons for British resistance and the forms it took, Caratacus and the war against Plautius and Ostorius, the Boudiccan Revolt: causes, course and consequences, Venutius, Cartimandua and unrest in Brigantia, Calgacus and the Roman image of the British leader, the governor and the procurator in the Roman province, British collaboration with Roman rule, client rulers: Prasutagus, Cartimandua and Cogidubnus, the deployment and role of the Roman army in Britain, economic exploitation and changes in agriculture, roads, trade and the army's impact on the British economy, Urbanisation and the different types of Roman town, town life: public buildings, leisure and economic growth and Romanisation, the Romanised elite and Fishbourne Palace.

Sample questions from Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43-C.128

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

Britain and Rome before the invasion of AD 43

List the British exports named by Strabo.

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He lists grain, cattle, gold, silver and iron, together with hides, slaves and hunting dogs.
The invasion of AD 43 and the conquest of southern Britain

Explain the purpose of the road running between Exeter and Lincoln.

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The Fosse Way linked the garrisons across the width of Britain and marked the limit of the territory held securely in the first years.
Frontier policy after Agricola and Domitian's retrenchment

Name the legion withdrawn from Britain in the late AD 80s.

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The Second Adiutrix was taken away for the Danube, leaving three legions in the province.
Hadrian's decision to build the Wall

What do the coins of Hadrian's reign showing Britannia suggest?

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They advertise the emperor's attention to the province and present the settlement of Britain as an achievement worth celebrating.
Caratacus and the war against Plautius and Ostorius

How did Caratacus choose his ground for the final battle in AD 51?

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He took a hill position protected by a river and strengthened the weaker approaches with a rampart of piled stones.
Venutius, Cartimandua and unrest in Brigantia

How does Tacitus sum up the result of the Brigantian crisis of AD 69?

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He says that the throne was left to Venutius and the war to Rome.
British collaboration with Roman rule

How did Agricola encourage the sons of British nobles to accept Roman ways?

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He had them educated in the liberal arts and in Latin, and praised their ability against that of the Gauls.
The deployment and role of the Roman army in Britain

What does the tombstone of Rufus Sita at Gloucester record?

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Rufus Sita, a trooper of the Sixth Cohort of Thracians, died aged forty after twenty-two years' service, and his heirs set up a stone showing him on horseback spearing a fallen enemy.

The 23 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Britain and Rome before the invasion of AD 43	Recall questions on Caesar's expeditions of 55 and 54 BC, Cassivellaunus and the terms Caesar imposed, trade and customs duties, the British exports named by Strabo, imported wine and tableware, Latin coin legends, Cunobelinus and Catuvellaunian expansion, Caligula, Adminius and Verica, the limits of Strabo, and Pomponius Mela.	16
Claudius' reasons for the conquest of Britain	Recall questions on Claudius' accession and need for military prestige, the revolt of Scribonianus, Verica's flight as a pretext, Britain's economic attractions, Caesar's precedent, the druids and British exiles, the triumph, Britannicus and the arch, Suetonius and Cassius Dio on the campaign, managing the armies, and Claudius' letter to the travelling athletes.	16
The invasion of AD 43 and the conquest of southern Britain	Recall questions on Aulus Plautius and the four invasion legions, the troops' refusal and Narcissus, the landing at Richborough and the river battle, Togodumnus and Caratacus, the halt at the Thames and Claudius' elephants, Vespasian and the Second Augusta in the south-west, Hod Hill and Maiden Castle, the Fosse Way, the colonia at Camulodunum, and Josephus and Suetonius as sources.	18
Roman military policy under the governors from Ostorius to Frontinus	Recall questions on the governor's title, Ostorius Scapula's disarming of the Iceni and wars with the Silures and Ordovices, Didius Gallus and Quintus Veranius, Suetonius Paulinus on Mona and his removal, Petronius Turpilianus and Trebellius Maximus, the civil war of AD 69, Petillius Cerialis in Brigantia, Julius Frontinus at Caerleon, and outside limits on advance.	17
Agricola's campaigns in Britain, AD 77–83	Recall questions on Agricola's earlier service in Britain, the Ordovices and the taking of Anglesey, his northern advance and the Forth–Clyde line, Ireland and the fleet, the night attack on the Ninth legion, the deployment and casualties at Mons Graupius, the voyage round Britain, his civil measures, Tacitus' bias, the Chester water-pipe, and the Demetrius plaques at York.	19
Frontier policy after Agricola and Domitian's retrenchment	Recall questions on Agricola's recall and whether Tacitus' explanation holds, the Dacian crisis on the Danube and the withdrawal of the Second Adiutrix, the demolition of Inchtuthil and its buried nails, the fall back to southern Scotland, the Gask Ridge watchtowers, Tacitus' bitter summary, and what the retrenchment shows about how Rome judged conquests.	13
Trajan's retrenchment and the Stanegate frontier	Recall questions on Trajan's Dacian and Parthian wars, the fall back to the Tyne–Solway line, the Stanegate and its forts such as Vindolanda and Carvoran, the burning of Newstead, the Vindolanda tablets, Brittunculi, strength reports and Claudia Severa's birthday invitation, the fort plans and the prefect's house, the disappearance of the Ninth Hispana, and the Caerleon stone of Trajan.	17
Hadrian's decision to build the Wall	Recall questions on Hadrian's frontier policy and the Historia Augusta, the state of Britain at his accession, his visit in AD 122, Aulus Platorius Nepos and the Sixth Victrix, the Wall's purposes of control, taxation and display and why it was not built to stop invasion, the Britannia coins, and the inscriptions from Milecastle 38, Halton Chesters, Benwell and Newcastle.	16
The features and functions of Hadrian's Wall	Recall questions on the Wall's course from Wallsend to Bowness and its length, the narrowed gauge and the turf wall west of the Irthing, milecastles and turrets, the northern ditch and the Vallum, the fort decision and forts such as Housesteads and Chesters, outpost forts, the Cumbrian coast defences, the Whin Sill, and the bridges at Chesters and Willowford.	15
The reasons for British resistance and the forms it took	Recall questions on resentment of taxation, the grain levy, recruitment and veteran settlement, the temple at Camulodunum, the suppression of the druids, why Britons fought, guerrilla resistance and the Silures, weakness in open battle and disunity, the help given by geography, the readier submission of the south-east, and how effective resistance was overall.	14
Caratacus and the war against Plautius and Ostorius	Recall questions on Caratacus as son of Cunobelinus and his part in AD 43, his war with the Silures and Ordovices in Wales, his authority over other peoples, his chosen ground and defeat in AD 51, the capture of his family, Cartimandua's betrayal, his speech and pardon at Rome as told in Tacitus' Annals, and the effect of his nine years of resistance.	15
The Boudiccan Revolt: causes, course and consequences	Recall questions on Prasutagus and his will, the treatment of Boudicca and her daughters, debts and the procurator Decianus Catus, the Trinovantes and Camulodunum, Suetonius Paulinus on Mona, the defeat of the Ninth legion, the abandonment of Londinium, Tacitus' death toll, the final battle and Boudicca's death, famine, Julius Classicianus, Nero's doubts, and the change in Roman policy.	18
Venutius, Cartimandua and unrest in Brigantia	Recall questions on the Brigantes and Cartimandua as client queen, her value to Rome and her surrender of Caratacus, Venutius and Tacitus' view of him, the breach over Vellocatus, Didius Gallus' intervention, the crisis of AD 69 and its outcome, Petillius Cerialis' conquest and the legion at York, Stanwick, and Tacitus' portrait of Cartimandua in the Histories.	15
Calgacus and the Roman image of the British leader	Recall questions on Calgacus and the Agricola as the only source, his charge that Rome makes a desert and calls it peace, the last free people, why Tacitus gave him the speech, the noble savage and the primitive barbarian, marks of primitiveness, Dio's portrait of Boudicca, invented speeches in ancient history, the lack of British accounts, and Tacitus himself.	15
The governor and the procurator in the Roman province	Recall questions on why Britain was an imperial province, the consular governor's rank, military and civil duties and term, the equestrian procurator and his financial responsibilities, why the two posts were separated and how that checked and complicated rule, Classicianus and his London tombstone, the legatus iuridicus, Londinium as capital, and how well the system worked.	14
British collaboration with Roman rule	Recall questions on what British nobles gained from cooperating, civitates and their councils of decurions, Roman citizenship as reward, the Chichester inscription of Tiberius Claudius and its temple to Neptune and Minerva, Agricola's education of chiefs' sons and Tacitus' verdict, villas and Roman names, the risks collaborators ran, the readier south-east, and what Rome expected.	18
Client rulers: Prasutagus, Cartimandua and Cogidubnus	Recall questions on client kingdoms, their advantages to Rome and what happened at a king's death, Prasutagus and the Iceni and what their fate shows, Cartimandua's usefulness and weakness, Cogidubnus and his kingdom around Chichester, Tacitus on Cogidubnus and on kings as instruments of enslavement, what was expected of a client king, and how effective client rule was.	14
The deployment and role of the Roman army in Britain	Recall questions on the number and strength of legions, legionaries and auxiliaries and their rewards, the fortresses at Caerleon, Chester and York, the distribution of forts, the army's non-military work, lessons of the Boudiccan revolt, building and garrisoning Hadrian's Wall, and soldiers' tombstones such as Longinus Sdapeze, Favonius Facilis, Rufus Sita and Flavinus, and Titus Pontius Sabinus.	30
Economic exploitation and changes in agriculture	Recall questions on Britain's economy before AD 43 and the oppida, lead mining in the Mendips and the Claudian ingots, why lead mattered, gold at Dolaucothi, iron, copper and tin, imperial control of the mines, Tacitus on the prize of victory, changes in farming and its technology, the annona, villa estates, and whether Roman rule was exploitation.	14
Roads, trade and the army's impact on the British economy	Recall questions on why and how Roman roads were built, Watling Street, Ermine Street and Dere Street, roads and the growth of towns such as Londinium, Richborough as gateway, imports of wine, olive oil and Samian ware, British exports, the effect of army pay and supply contracts, the Classis Britannica, and how wealth was drawn out of Britain.	14
Urbanisation and the different types of Roman town	Recall questions on why Rome needed towns and why they grew at old fortresses and road junctions, the colonia at Camulodunum and the coloniae of Lincoln and Gloucester, the municipium of Verulamium, civitas capitals such as Silchester and Cirencester, the vicus, the unusual status of Londinium, the grid layout of towns, and their dependence on local aristocrats.	14
Town life: public buildings, leisure and economic growth	Recall questions on the forum and basilica, the Verulamium forum inscription, public baths and Sulis Minerva at Bath, amphitheatres and theatres, water supply, the mansio, towns as markets and craft centres, the growth of Londinium, who paid for public buildings, what towns offered Britons, the Wroxeter forum dedication, and the Silchester baths.	16
Romanisation, the Romanised elite and Fishbourne Palace	Recall questions on Romanisation and the modern debate about it, Tacitus on Agricola's encouragement of Roman ways and on comforts as servitude, towns as agents of change, signs of a Romanised elite, the spread of Latin, Fishbourne Palace's date, scale, decoration and link with Cogidubnus, the limits of Romanisation beyond the elite and in the north and west, and native religion.	16

Ruling Roman Britain, AD 43-C.128 is 374 of the 2,709 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.